Where to Go for Information on Road Closures, Rain Totals and Power Outages

A Flash Flood Watch is in effect until noon today. Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms are expected.

National Weather Service

Update: A Flash Flood Watch remains in effect for much of Central Texas until noon.

Original Story (5:44 a.m.): Central Texas is getting some much-needed rain. The numbers and affected areas are changing constantly. So here's a roundup of how to find the latest information for your neighborhood:

1. Road Closures/Low Water Crossing Closures

ATXfloods.com: Current flood information and emergency road closures in the City of Austin, Travis County, Sunset Valley and Cedar Park. Information is automatically updated. Red dots indicate low water crossing closures and the list on the right provides details. Updates are also posted to Twitter.

2. Rain Totals

Some parts of Central Texas have received as much as an inch and a half of rain since midnight – including Llano and Elgin.

LCRA.org: Want to know exactly how much rain you've gotten? The source area meteorologists rely on is the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA). Finding the location nearest you may be a little tricky. KUT's weather partner TWCN helps translate.

3. Power Outages

We're not getting a clear picture of power outages yet this morning. Austin Energy last reported about 2,500 customers without power – but that was several hours ago. Pedernales Electric Coop currently says about 75 customers are without power.

AustinEnergy.com: If you're an Austin Energy customer, you can check out where storms are affecting power. Austin Energy also posts updates on Twitter.

PEC.coop: Pedernales Electric Coop serves much of the Hill Country and keeps outage information on its website. PEC is also on Twitter.

4. Weather Watches & Warnings

Right now, there's a Flood Advisory in effect for the Austin area until 7:30 a.m. and a Flash Flood Watch in effect until noon.

Forecast.Weather.gov: The National Weather Service is the source for the latest on storm watches and warnings. You'll see a list in red at the top of the page. Update for watches/warning affecting your specific area.

5. Lake Levels

Finally, how is all this rain affecting Austin's water source the Highland Lakes? The LCRA has the latest.

Against the backdrop of a debate over whether Texas has enough power generation (i.e. power plants) to meet growing demand, two instances of large-scale outages in the past few weeks show a more common vulnerability: power lost to fallen or damaged power lines during storms. Could anything have been done to prevent the outages? The short answer is yes. But chances are you won’t like the full explanation.